Various articles employ elastic materials for purposes of fit and to provide specific functional benefits. For example, some absorbent articles such as diapers and pants, utilize elastic materials to provide a better fit for the wearer around the legs and waist. Absorbent articles also utilize elastic materials to provide gasketing for exudates, for example, in leg containment flaps. Other types of articles, such as clothing, coveralls, workwear, athletic apparel, surgical gowns, etc., can also utilize elastic material to achieve proper fit and/or function.
However, elastic materials can also serve as a potential source of irritation against the skin of a wearer. While such irritation can be reduced by providing thicker and softer facing materials over the elastic materials, covering the elastic materials in such a fashion can be costly. Additionally, the construction of some elastic composites provides facing materials of limited topography, or micro-topography that may go unnoticed by the user and/or wearer. By having minimal changes in topography, these elastic composites do not provide the appearance of softness to the user and/or wearer, or in the context of some absorbent articles, to a caregiver.
Thus, there is a desire for improvements to elastic composites to provide increased softness as well as the perception of increased softness. There is also a desire for improvements to absorbent articles including elastic composites to provide increased softness as well as the perception of increased softness.